Optical communication systems are often used to transmit data in a variety of systems such as telecommunication systems and data communication systems. Telecommunication systems often involve the transmission of data over geographic distances ranging from a few miles to thousands of miles. Data communications often involve transmission of data throughout a datacenter. Such systems involve the transmission of data over distances ranging from a few feet to several hundred feet. The coupling components that are used to transfer an electrical signal into an optical signal and put that optical signal into an optical transmission medium such as a fiber optic cable are relatively costly. Due to this expense, optical transmission systems are generally used as a backbone of a network to transfer large amounts of data over greater distances.
The use of optical transmission systems in computer communication systems would benefit from the high bandwidth provided by such optical systems. Bandwidth refers to the amount of data that can be transmitted within a specified unit of time. However, computer communication systems typically involve the transmission of data over smaller distances that range from a few inches to several feet. Thus, it is often not economically practical to use the more expensive optical coupling components to optically transmit data over such small distances.
Throughout the drawings, identical reference numbers designate similar, but not necessarily identical, elements.